Meliá Kuala Lumpur hotel review: Meliá Hotels & Resorts first property in Malaysia opened back in 1996 so it has reached a decent age of 30 years. Making most other hotels in the Malaysian capital look like children, this Golden Triangle-located property now also has as sister hotel that is brand new; namely INNSiDE By Meliá Kuala Lumpur Cheras (which is located in a nearby district as part of the capital’s expanding “downtown”.
And what draws Happy Hour Asia to try out Meliá Kuala Lumpur are basically four points, being: 1) This Spanish brand’s today well-known overall quality, and as it has also expanded with many more properties in Southeast Asia 2) The fact that the accommodation and other facilities have been completely refurbished 3) Its great location – be it for business or pleasure 4) Offering a club lounge for rooms with premium services, despite this being “only” four-star (which in itself raises the bar).
Meliá Kuala Lumpur hotel
So, refurbished rooms are of course relevant when a hotel has operated over a significant period. And it is satisfying indeed that the stylish accommodation pretty much surpasses expectation, having the amenities, quality and looks of five-star.
Meliá Kuala Lumpur hotel: arrival with convenience
The arrival can be via the monorail station outside the hotel (which connects to KL Sentral and the airport train transfer) or the nearby subway (which connects to other parts of the city). In the vicinity shoppers can find plenty of options: the well-known Times Square and Sungei Wang Plaza Shopping Center, and at the heart of Bukit Bintang (described as the heart and hub of Kuala Lumpur) the premier shopping mall Pavilion. For business, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre can actually be accessed also via a long elevated – and partly air-conditioned – skybridge, starting at Pavilion and with multiple exit and access points along its route (visiting a trade show there during this stay, the route included to take the Monorail two station, from which there is close access to the skybridge. Taxi is another option but with high risk of getting stuck in heavy traffic).
The Meliá Kuala Lumpur lobby looks stylish and inviting, with the also spruced up hotel bar Moss Lounge, to the right of the reception. Nearby the bar find a round crystal-like wall mirror, while the bar’s black counter comes with a white, symmetrical front pattern. Above it, find industrial style metal lamps hung from the ceiling.
The lobby reception desk is furnished in sandy, veined marble, where an arcade frames the check-in desks – with the walls and ceiling covered in marble and a rose gold material. Yellow and transparent ceiling lamps hang over the counters.
Meliá Kuala Lumpur pool area
The lobby comes in brown-hued interiors: beige wallpaper and armchairs, a brown-white symmetric carpet, and dark brown round tables. It offers various seats nearby floor-to-ceiling windows, with a view of the drive-up and street beyond it.
Always on the lookout for Happy Hour, it is noted that the promotion at Moss Lounge – upon this visit – offers such a package of 5 glasses of the in Malaysia highly popular Carlsberg Draught beer (brewed in Kuala Lumpur) for RM 120 net. The bar menu also includes award-winning cocktails and Spanish wines.
Meliá Kuala Lumpur hotel: up to The Level
Opting for a club room is highly recommended in this hotel as it takes the stay to another level so to speak. And appropriately it takes you to the ‘Level Lounge’, which is exclusively reserved for The Level guests to enjoy an elegant and refined ambience. This social place is available from 7am to 9pm offering soft drinks, juices, coffee, tea and distinguished services. Savour dishes from an exquisite selection in this lounge just for you!
The arrival for this stay, on the late afternoon, happens just in time to catch the afternoon tea served at the club lounge, which shares floor with the outdoor pool (in view trough the Level Lounge’s glass doors and walls in two directions). As a Level guest you will quickly be whisked up there for personalised check-in at the private area. Then, time to order some tea, have some tartes and sandwiches, survey the interiors, and wind down… If you have not tried it before don’t miss the assorted Malaysian Kuih – a local dessert!
The Level Lounge: pool view
Overlooking the pool (decorated with dark and light blue mosaic tiles) along with green plants and blue sunchairs give the setting a sense of urban resort feel and less “business-rigid”. It really feels like a perfect way to mix business and leisure, and to remind oneself that aside work one also deserves a swim!
The interior offers lantern style ceiling lamps; chandelier floor lamps; framed wall panels and pictures on a white brick wall; brown diagonal-wooden flooring; and vertically mounted ceiling planks.
Two sofas are notable with their super chic velvet green upholstering, along with light brown velvet chairs. There is also a square bar taking centre stage, and that even comes with footrests. And it’s illuminated from the white, crystal square-shaped chandelier above.
From a cabinet guests can choose their favourite tea flavour. Books on display includes one in Spanish about ‘Culinary Spain’, and one about yoga. Your choice of coffee comes from the in Malaysia popular brand Boncafé.
It is easy to become “glued” to this relaxing space, especially if one has some laptop work to take care of. Suddenly the afternoon approaches the highlight of the club lounge experience; complimentary evening cocktails between 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
The Level room
Meliá Kuala Lumpur hotel: Stylish The Level room
And before we come the details about that experience it must be said that the laptop work can also be done in excellent comfort within the accommodation, in this case in a ‘The Level’ room (there is also The Level Suite type and all these rooms are on the upper floors of the hotel, offering more expansive views of the city surrounds)
The Level room (32 sq. m.) is simply a guest’s delight, with such classic European and stylish interiors, including recessed ceiling and a superbly comfortable bed (on the soft side and yet firm!), and featuring a bathtub, in addition to rain shower!
The custom-built black and shiny desk (with steel legs) is mounted in the window-facing corner, and with a window sofa next to it, not to mention a proper desk chair!
And what contributes to the stylish feel are of course the choice of materials and in concert with the dominating black, white and brown tones. And that includes the black and golden tailored borders on the towels, pillows and duvet – offering a classic and sophisticated accent, as well as pastel mint-green blackout curtains.
The Level room coffee maker
The wooden floor is chocolate brown, wall panels and cabinets are white, the wallpapers come in beige/brown, while the padded headboard is slightly grey and framed by black wood.
On both sides are also black bed tables, with white classic-looking wall lamps. The wall TV is also framed, while the large black-framed wall mirror next to the work desk conveys the illusion of a larger sized room than reality.
The bathroom comes decorated in grey granite style tiles, a floor section with black-and-white mosaic tiles, and marble shelves.
In addition to a capsule coffee maker from Black Bixon, guests can enjoy luxury bathroom amenities as well as a selection of pillow choices: latex, micro fibre, contour pillow, foam etc.
Praise can also be given for the refill bottled drinking water, now zero plastic involved!
Meliá Kuala Lumpur hotel: club lounge cocktails, canapés and cuisine
Level Lounge cocktail hour
Back to The Level for the cocktail hours, with beer, wine, Mojito and two other cocktails served among the drinks. The white choice is the Chilean Corner Stone Silver Birch, chardonnay 2024, suitably offering exotic flavours with an elegant finish. This wine works very well with most hot dishes and canapés that are on offer each day (of course including cold cuts and assorted cheese), for instance the Spanish dish Fish Escabeche (also done in a Filipino version) – consisting of fried or poached fish marinated in a tangy, acidic sauce of vinegar, onions, ginger. Another nice dish is Lamb kofta (which actually resembles meatballs and also comes in such a shape) – a Middle Eastern grilled dish made up of ground lamb, onion, garlic, a variety of spices.
There are also wraps and roti with fillings, garlic chicken – with rotating hot dishes daily.
In the morning, if not opting for breakfast in bed, it is served at the hotel restaurant The KiTCHEN Meliá, and unsurprisingly including some well-known Spanish tapas – which add to the differentiation of staying with Meliá, such a Sardinas picantes (Hand cut sardines grilled over wood fire) and Patata bravas (which includes a spicy sauce with fried potatoes), Torrijas (Spanish-style French toast), and Flamenco Eggs (a traditional Andalusian Spanish dish consisting of eggs baked in a rich tomato sauce with various toppings). Actually, Spain’s famous dishes such as Paella and Tortilla began appearing much more frequently at hotel buffets in Asia in recent times, which is excellent – as these dishes are so sumptuous!
Malaysian/Indian cuisines get their fair share of the breakfast buffet too; with Nasi lemak, Murtabak, Fried kuey teow, Roti Bom flatbread, and Fried samosa.
Miso soup, mango yoghurt and raisin bread are also among the breakfast temptations.
Red Snapper dish at The KiTCHEN Meliá restaurant
Returning to halal-certified The KiTCHEN Meliá for lunch if anything it would be nice to see more Spanish dishes on the à la carte menu. Nevertheless, the choices turn out to be top notch food. First, the Roasted pumpkin soup with spicy garlic bread (partly sunken in the soup, with parsley), as starter, is a soup cooked with differentiation when it comes to the taste. And the same goes for the main dish that follows: Red snapper with Chefs Special sauce is just a super delicious dish served with sides curry rice and sautéed paprika! That sauce… wow!
To conclude, all the good reasons mentioned in the beginning, plus the overall tasty and varied food selection (including at The Level) make this a very pleasant hotel stay – and in style.
The Level room coffee maker
Red Snapper dish at The KiTCHEN Meliá restaurant
